Foundations
by YouOnlyKnowWhatIWantYouTo
Summary: A one shot (or possible short story) one Tara's first meeting with Jax


Hi guys. Sorry, I'm haven't been on the site, or published anything for quite some time. However, I have been getting some reviews from older stories on here from Jax and Tara and favourites. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. The fact that you take the time out, even after the show has finished, to these stories means a lot to me.

This is a very quick one shot, although there is a possibility, if there is demand, to develop it into a short story. Its a different take on Tara and Jax meeting (all of my previous stories suggest Jax and Tara have known each other since they were small) In this one she has just started at Charming High around the age of 14/15 having moved with her dad from San Diego.

Let me know what you think.

For elbeewoods xxx

The bell had rang a good five minutes ago, Tara had ran from the gates of the school and now, with an erratic heat beat and lungs that begged for mercy, she found herself a victim of the maze of corridors within Charming High. In her confused state she couldn't place where she was, even though these walls had been home to her for the best part of a week.

Her chest shuddered as she gasped for breath, the run from home had worn her out. Goddamn her father. For the second time that week she was late because he had been out boozing all night with his new work buddies. Tara had spent the last two hours showering the vomit off him and dragging him into bed, laying him on his side and stacking pillows behind him in case he rolled over and choked. She had hoped that the move away from San Diego would help them both, that it would be cathartic for them to move away from the hustle and bustle of city life and settle in beautiful Charming. She figured her dad would stop drinking. She was wrong.

She shook her head and sifted through her satchel, praying that she had slipped her timetable back into her bag after catching up with some work last night. After a few minutes she lay her bag down on the floor, emptying it desperately, only to find it wedged in one of her notebooks. Her eyes scanned it quickly, and after taking a few moments to remember what day it was, realised that she needed to get to English.

Jax wiped his lips but that didn't stop the shit eating grin that lit up his face. There were some reasons that school was worth coming to. The fifteen minutes that he'd just spent in the bathroom with Jessica Hale was one of them. As he reminisced about the events form the past few minutes, he sauntered through the quiet school corridors and rounded the corner to see someone huddled over their bag, quickly slipping in their books back in. They had their back to him, but their demeanour made him stop for a second. Their quick actions made him know that they were in a hurry and if he wasn't mistaken their quick breaths were on the verge of sounding like sobs.

He was sure it was a girl, the long chocolate locks gave it away. From the back, her look seemed a little bit tomboyish, an oversized red checked shirt hung loosely and hid any womanly curves. He had yet to see her face, but something told him she was pretty, and pretty women were always on his radar.

"Are you lost?" Jax asked gently and as he slowly approached her.

Tara gasped in fright, believing she was alone. She swung around quickly to look up at him. Within seconds she really wished she hadn't.

Beautiful wasn't how Tara normally chose to describe boys but this was the only way she knew how to define this guy. His long sun kissed locks hung over his face and as he brought a hand up to sweep it behind his ear she got a better look at his features. The California sun had tanned his face nicely and his features were flawless but masculine too. His eyes were the colour of the sky and pierced into her frightened green orbs.

This guy was beyond good looking. If she wasn't breathless before she was damn well suffocating now.

She looked back down at the last of her books on the floor and quickly shoved them into her bag. She wanted to get out of here quickly, she felt awkward and clumsy underneath his beautiful scrutiny.

"I er, I need to …. er" she gave herself a second and stood up, facing him but not making eye contact. "I need to get to English"

He assessed her for a second, somehow basking in her awkwardness and bit his lip to stop from smiling. He knew he had an effect on the female race but this girl was the colour of beetroot and he'd only asked her a question.

"You missed it. It was the first corridor on your left as you walked in" he looked behind her and jutted his chin out to point to the corridor that clearly had a 'English department' sign hanging above the entrance.

Tara followed his gaze. _Shit, now he thinks I'm a complete dumbass too._

She swallowed nervously and clumsily waved at him, backing towards the corridor. "Okay, thanks"

But before she could move too far from him Jax reached out and grabbed the timetable out of her hand, opening it up and assessing it.

"Oh shit, you've got Colston. She's a royal pain in the ass but she loves me. She's good friends with my mom so I can do no wrong. I'll walk you there"

Tara's eyes widened in horror. Most girls would smile and flirt, but Tara didn't know how to do that. A hot guy walking you to class is the stuff of dreams, for her it was a nightmare. How the hell could she play this without looking like a total freak?

"Oh no, it's ok, I can find it" she stammered.

Jax reached for her satchel and tugged it off her arm. "Listen, there's not many times I get to feel like a gent darlin. Let me have this moment"

And before she could refuse anymore, Jax had slipped her satchel over his shoulder and started to amble towards the English corridor. Tara had no choice but to follow.

As soon as she was by his side he glanced across at her. There was something beautiful about her in a way that he couldn't pinpoint. She wasn't like the girls that usually hung around him, her face was porcelain white and her features were proportioned. She didn't hide behind layers of make up like so many of the other girls he knew and her unblemished skin glowed. Her long hair was kind of wild and thick but he had the sudden urge to reach out a drag his fingers through it. There was something mesmeric about her. He noticed how she hunched her shoulders a little as she walked next to him, perhaps because she felt a little awkward, and her head looked down to the floor as he surreptitiously scrutinised her, as if she expected him to find fault with her.

He slowed his pace a little, feeling the need to eke out his time find out more about this girl. "So you're a ninth grader, huh?"

"Yeah"

"You new around here?"

"Uh huh" she replied, biting her lip, feeling as if she elaborated then she would say something dumb.

Jax nodded. _Why the hell will this chick not talk to me?_ He pondered. "You moved here with your family?"

"Yeah"

"And you like it so far?"

Tara shrugged non committally "Yeah"

Jax chuckled and stopped, causing Tara to turn around and look at him "Look darling, I'm just trying to make conversation here but it has to be a two way thing" He wiggled his free hand in the space between the two of them "You wanna give me a little bit more than 'Yeah'?"

Tara realised that she was being incredibly rude, her cheeks staining with yet more crimson. "I'm sorry, it's just been a shitty week. I don't know many people and settling into a new place has just been a little scary"

Jax nodded and smiled encouragingly at her, causing Tara's legs to weaken a little. "I get it, new faces and places an all. But you know me now"

Tara nodded slowly and smiled politely and in that moment Jax realised that he wanted to see her smile more, it took her from being a pretty girl to stunning in a split second. Tara looked at the wooden door that they were standing at and realised they were outside her classroom. Unfortunately this was where their journey ended.

"Well, this G12. Thanks for getting me here safely" she joked and delighted when he beamed back at her.

"No problem" Jax sipped the handle of the satchel off his shoulder and handed it across the short distance between them. Tara reached out and grabbed the brown leather strap but as she tried to tug it away, Jax's grip on the bag tightened. Her eyes rose up to meet his.

"You know you never told me your name darlin"

In that split second she forgot it. She forgot everything that was relevant to her, even breathing. His eyes penetrated hers, pinning her to the spot. He was smiling at her. He, this Adonis, was smiling at **_her_**. At her old school the great looking guys would just walk straight past her, not even acknowledging her if they so much as bumped into her. To them, and it seemed to so many others in her life, she was worthless trash. But this guy, he was talking to her, smiling at her, he even escorted her to class.

"Miss Knowles I presume?"

It wasn't until Jax's eyes tore away from Tara's and looked over her shoulder that Tara realised she had even been spoken to. In the doorway behind her was a stern looking woman, maybe about forty five with blonde greyish hair. She looked like she would rip Tara to shreds for being late. The dream was abruptly brought to an end.

Tara stammered as her mind desperately scrambled for an excuse for her lateness and she became more flustered as she became aware of Jax's staring into the back of her head.

"Hey Pauline. How're things going? You miss me?" Jax inquired, trying on the famous Jackson Teller charm.

"Mr Teller, you know that you can't call me by my first name at school" Pauline said sternly, but both Jax and Tara couldn't help but spot the slight smile on her face. For the second time in a matter of minutes, Jax Teller had come to Tara's aid.

"Sorry. Don't blame Miss Knowles here, she was late because of me" Tara felt Jax's hand on the middle of her back, causing electricity to course through her body. Now he was taking the blame for her. Shit, he was _touching_ her.

"Well now that you've escorted Miss Knowles so safely to class, I'd like to continue my analysis of Romeo and Juliet"

Pauline stepped aside to make way Tara to come into the class. As Tara walked through the threshold she looked back at Jax and smiled sheepishly.

"See you later, Knowles"

Tara nodded, his beautiful smile was infectious "I guess so, Teller"


End file.
